Sometimes it seems the world is on fire. No one else seems to see it, but when the reds and oranges light up the ground and the trees seem about to burst it would seem there is no denying it. There are a lot of things I would think are impossible to deny, but that doesn't seem to stop people. The collective of humanity seems to be pretty good at denying things. We don't seem to see the course of war and destruction we've set ourselves on, nor the ever increasing threat of utter annihilation through weapons we are far from capable of building let alone using.
But like I said, we choose to deny it. I suppose sometimes it is better that way. If I can't see it then it must not exist gets a lot of people through their everyday life. I suppose it works for me whenever the fire starts, when it seems that the world should explode and eventually it does not. That's how we will survive in the end, we will disbelieve the illusion. Sometimes I wonder if the fire is not real, if that is the only reason that I'm the one to see it, not the fire department or the police or the government. That can't be true though, I'd have to be crazy.
Besides, I can't be crazy because I met a woman once who saw it too. It only made sense really, she was just about made of fire. From her hair to her boots she exuded a certain heat, one that warped the world around her and created a barrier that few were willing to pass. Others fire was small, enough to burn beneath them and give them drive but not hers, no hers shown bright through her and that was too much for the rest of the world. It was just right for me though, after all I had grown used to it after awhile. When the fires come daily they just don't bother you after awhile.
She seemed to mind them though. I remember asking her one time, when everything seemed to be going wrong and the colors were blindingly bright. She said it killed her every time she saw them, that she wouldn't be around for too many more. It turns out when your fire burns hot enough it extinguishes itself pretty fast. It wasn't her fault though, and I like to think that it wasn't mine. I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself though, I should talk about when we met. That was a much better day, the leaves were green and not black and charred, and the whole world was bright but not burning.
It was a long summer day, one of those that never seems to end, especially when you spend it outside. I was working then, just as I should be now, weeding fields to make the food come sooner for all the people who wanted it but didn't really need it. Such is the way of the world I suppose. It was just as the sun was highest, burning me as I kneeled over. I looked up to wipe some of the dirt and sweat off my brow and she appeared on a hill in the distance. I couldn't make out any exact features, merely the radiance that exuded from her. That was enough though, as I threw down my work and went over to her.
As I left a few of my fellow workers watched, then looked at the girl. Most averted their gaze, turned away from something that seemed to be so powerful it must be unreal. A few looked back to me for something like guidance, maybe searching for the reason I would abandon everything to go to something which was likely only a mirage. Even to this day I'm still not sure she was entirely real, there was something about her that seemed so much more than the rest of the world. It didn't matter to me though, and I strode confidently up the hill.
As I began my ascent she gazed down at me, and browsed the rest of the workers. Apparently dissatisfied she turned back to me and I saw her eyes, piercing me and almost burning me. Those eyes were something truly special, like the inner core of the sun they were so intense. I know it seems wrong but even now that is all I think of when I remember those times. The rest is lost to the ages but I will never forget those beautiful soulful orbs.
But like I said, we choose to deny it. I suppose sometimes it is better that way. If I can't see it then it must not exist gets a lot of people through their everyday life. I suppose it works for me whenever the fire starts, when it seems that the world should explode and eventually it does not. That's how we will survive in the end, we will disbelieve the illusion. Sometimes I wonder if the fire is not real, if that is the only reason that I'm the one to see it, not the fire department or the police or the government. That can't be true though, I'd have to be crazy.
Besides, I can't be crazy because I met a woman once who saw it too. It only made sense really, she was just about made of fire. From her hair to her boots she exuded a certain heat, one that warped the world around her and created a barrier that few were willing to pass. Others fire was small, enough to burn beneath them and give them drive but not hers, no hers shown bright through her and that was too much for the rest of the world. It was just right for me though, after all I had grown used to it after awhile. When the fires come daily they just don't bother you after awhile.
She seemed to mind them though. I remember asking her one time, when everything seemed to be going wrong and the colors were blindingly bright. She said it killed her every time she saw them, that she wouldn't be around for too many more. It turns out when your fire burns hot enough it extinguishes itself pretty fast. It wasn't her fault though, and I like to think that it wasn't mine. I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself though, I should talk about when we met. That was a much better day, the leaves were green and not black and charred, and the whole world was bright but not burning.
It was a long summer day, one of those that never seems to end, especially when you spend it outside. I was working then, just as I should be now, weeding fields to make the food come sooner for all the people who wanted it but didn't really need it. Such is the way of the world I suppose. It was just as the sun was highest, burning me as I kneeled over. I looked up to wipe some of the dirt and sweat off my brow and she appeared on a hill in the distance. I couldn't make out any exact features, merely the radiance that exuded from her. That was enough though, as I threw down my work and went over to her.
As I left a few of my fellow workers watched, then looked at the girl. Most averted their gaze, turned away from something that seemed to be so powerful it must be unreal. A few looked back to me for something like guidance, maybe searching for the reason I would abandon everything to go to something which was likely only a mirage. Even to this day I'm still not sure she was entirely real, there was something about her that seemed so much more than the rest of the world. It didn't matter to me though, and I strode confidently up the hill.
As I began my ascent she gazed down at me, and browsed the rest of the workers. Apparently dissatisfied she turned back to me and I saw her eyes, piercing me and almost burning me. Those eyes were something truly special, like the inner core of the sun they were so intense. I know it seems wrong but even now that is all I think of when I remember those times. The rest is lost to the ages but I will never forget those beautiful soulful orbs.
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